Bears' deadline to franchise tag Melton looms

The deadline for the Chicago Bears to place the franchise tag on Pro Bowl defensive tackle Henry Melton is fast approaching.

NFL clubs have until 3 p.m. Monday to exercise the option and secure the services of Melton for the 2013 season in the absence of a long-term contract.

A record 21 teams used the franchise tag in 2012, including the Bears, but no team has officially put their tag in play yet this year. Teams often wait until the final day to see if there will be a breakthrough in contract talks. The salary cap for the 2013 season has been set at $123 million. That means the Bears will have roughly $12 million in cap room after adjustments. The franchise tag for defensive tackles is $8.45 million, according to Albert Breer of NFL Network.

Melton, 26, was named to the NFC Pro Bowl team for the first time in his career this past season. The former fourth-round draft pick has shown consistent improvement each season and if the Bears choose to let him enter the market as an unrestricted free agent, they risk losing him and creating a need that would be as big as any other on the roster.

Melton had a career-high seven sacks in 2011 and followed up with six in 2012 but he was a much more complete player last season. He defended the run better and finished with 33 tackles, a team-high 24 quarterback pressures, five tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

The Bears don’t have another explosive three technique tackle on the roster and if they allowed Melton to become an unrestricted free agent, they would likely have to overpay to retain him because that is the nature of the first wave of free agency. If the club placed the franchise tag on Melton, it could still negotiate a multi-year contract with him through mid-July. It was that approach that led to running back Matt Forte receiving a four-year contract last summer after general manager Phil Emery placed the franchise tag on him in his first year running the organization. Of the 21 players to be tagged last season leaguewide, 12 got long-term deals done, including Forte.

Former general manager Jerry Angelo used the franchise tag only once, placing it on weak-side linebacker Lance Briggs in 2007. Briggs played that season under the terms of the tag, which becomes fully guaranteed once the player signs the tender.

The Bears have three other defensive linemen coming out of contract: Israel Idonije, Nate Collins and Amobi Okoye. It is believed the team wants to retain Idonije and Collins